Do you understand your brand?

Brands matter. A recognized brand earns more revenue. This is due in large to the fact that once a brand is recognized, trusted and available, it’s so much easier to just pick it up and move on. No internal evaluation, no worrying about effectiveness, no decision tree – just pick it up and move on.

This is why marketers are so reluctant to change a winning logo, formula or packaging design, even when it’s clearly becoming dated.

If you’re thinking about your brand, here’s a handy reference I use when we consult to brands.

Understanding your Brand.

This is all about defining what role the brand will play in enhancing customers’ lives. There are three types of positioning concepts:

Functional positions

Solve problems

Provide benefits to customers

Get favorable perception by investors (stock profile) and lenders

Symbolic positions

Self-image enhancement

Ego identification

Belonging and social meaningfulness

Experiential positions

Provide sensory stimulation

Provide cognitive stimulation

Understanding your Value Proposition

What is the value that customers derive from using your brand / product?

What needs do your target audience wish to satisfy with your brand & how would you position your brand to communicate this to them?

Segmentation

The primary objective of segmentation is to identify specific customers with like attributes, and to find segments of customers that are attractive from a profit perspective. In plain english, figure out who your best customers are and find more people like them!

Generic Markets (Large Segments)

comprised of groups of customers who have a general need
A generic market is comprised of groups of customers who have a general need, but have many offerings to choose from to meet that need. For example: transportation is a generic market that can be met by many offerings: car, bus, train, subway, taxi, etc.

Product Markets (Small Segments)

comprised of groups of customers who have a very specific need

A product market is comprised of groups of customers who have a very specific need, with fewer offerings to choose from. For example: The Luxury Car market has only a few options to choose from: Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, etc. Product market segments are similar within the specific segment (ex. Luxury Cars), and are different across segments (ex. Luxury, Mid-size, Economy); and each segment has very specific characteristics, which, when reflected in the product, can return higher profits to the organization.

Markets can be segmented by defining the goals of the customers in that market subset. For example, in the transportation market(The Generic Market), a group of customers who’s goals of transportation are to be able to travel in their own vehicle, feel comfortable/safe/fast relative to other transport options, and be able to show other people how “nice” their own vehicle is: this subset can be said to have goals which define them as a Luxury Car segment.

Urgency of Satisfaction = Affects Place and Price variables Market segmentation is the process in marketing of dividing a market into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Because each segment is fairly homogeneous in their needs and attitudes, they are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing strategy.

They are likely to have similar feeling and ideas about a marketing mix comprised of a given product or service, sold at a given price, distributed in a certain way, and promoted in a certain way.

Broadly, markets can be divided according to a number of general criteria, such as by industry or public versus private sector. Small segments are often termed niche markets or specialty markets. However, all segments fall into either consumer or industrial markets. Although it has similar objectives and it overlaps with consumer markets in many ways, the process of Industrial market segmentation is quite different.

The process of segmentation is distinct from targeting (choosing which segments to address) and positioning (designing an appropriate marketing mix for each segment). The overall intent is to identify groups of similar customers and potential customers; to prioritise the groups to address; to understand their behaviour; and to respond with appropriate marketing strategies that satisfy the different preferences of each chosen segment.

Improved segmentation can lead to significantly improved marketing effectiveness. With the right segmentation, the right lists can be purchased, advertising results can be improved and customer satisfaction can be increased.
Requirements for Successful segmentation are:

S Substantial: the segment has to be large and profitable enough

A Accessible: it must be possible to reach it efficiently

D Differential: it must respond differently to a different marketing mix